


Unwelcome Change

by cassyblue



Category: Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
Genre: Body Swap, Canon Divergence, F/F, harrow fucks up, worse case scenario for gideon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-08 03:50:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21469606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassyblue/pseuds/cassyblue
Summary: Gideon feels like she's been dragged to hell and back as she slowly regains consciousness. Her bones ache and all she wants is a hot shower, or better a hot bath. Something wet drops down her upper lip. Gross. She cracks one eye open and finds herself looking at her face.
Relationships: Gideon Nav/Harrowhark Nonagesimus
Comments: 5
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter 1

Gideon feels like she's been dragged to hell and back as she slowly regains consciousness. Her bones ache and all she wants is a hot shower, or better a hot bath. Something wet drops down her upper lip. Gross. She cracks one eye open and finds herself looking at her face. 

Fuck. She closes her eyes again hoping this is some sort of dream. She cracks the one open again. Yep, she's definitely looking at her own face across from her. Well, at least she can say that she still looks hot despite her body being stuck in Canaan House. 

Oh. 

She wipes her lip and blood comes away on her rather pale Hand. No, that's not her hand. She would know from kissing it. It's Harrow's hand. She scrambles up in shock, her hand going to her hair. Curls. Shit. Fuck. 

The black robes swirl around her as she tries to find the closest reflective surface to confirm what she already knows. The glass window of the groddy lab reveals a reflection of fucking Harrowhark Nonagesimus. But gold eyes instead of almost black eyes stare back. Gideon's fingers, no Harrow's finger run across the reflection in shock. This is her absolute nightmare, she's in the body of her noodly necromancer. That means- oh fuck. Harrow is going to be super pissed that she screwed it up. 

Gideon stomps over to her body, potentially Harrow. She squats and flicks the cheek of her body. A low moan comes from her body's mouth. And then her body speaks and she has to not shriek in horror as it says, "Griddle?"

Well that is confirmed. Somehow Harrow fucked up. 

"Who else, idiot?" Gideon is not looking forward to Harrow's reaction. On one hand it could be spectacularly funny but on the other hand she doesn't want to deal with skeletons if she's stuck in Harrow's wimpy body. Gideon is pretty sure that Harrow has never done a single pushup in her life. 

Harrows eyes open or rather her eyes? This is too much for her brain right now. But pools of black state at her widening in horror. "That's me. Oh. Oh no. No, no, no...that means-"

Harrow sits up and holds up her- Gideon's hands. She looks at Gideon, her face curling into a rather not Gideon but very Harrow scowl. That's so weird to see Harrow's expressions on her face. Gideon does not like it one bit. 

"Yep, my dearest lady of obsidian heart. You fucked up." Gideon says. 

Harrow's scowl deepens, "please don't, Gideon, you're only making this worse." 

"Well, it could be worse instead of being in the body of an absolute specimen, you could have ended up dead." Gideon pats Harrow awkwardly on the head. 

Harrow looks about ready to murder something. Is that how Gideon looked when seriously pissed off? She sits up. Gideon has to admit rather smugly that her body, even with Harrow in, looks great. She must have not lost too much muscle during lyctorhood with Harrow. If anything her body pretty much looks like it did before she died. Peak condition. 

"I don't know how to fix this. I thought I had the theorem right. Gideon stop picking the paint off My face!" Harrow swats Gideon's hand away from her face. Gideon had absentmindedly started to pick because she is so used to the paint making her skin angry. Harrow pauses for a moment. And then she finally sighs, "At least you're free of me." 

"Uh, not really because I'm still technically in you." Gideon points out. Man, this is such a major buzzkill because she had been fantasizing about sweeping harrow off her feet literally when she got her body back. 

"Well, you're not dead. I'm not dead. This is so gross." 

Gideon grins, "Yes, it's very gross. God you're so greasy, Harrow. How do you live like this?"

"You smell." Harrow retorts. "Very badly " 

Gideon laughs, "yeah well that's the price of having muscles." 

Harrow stops and stares, "Stop it. I don't like seeing myself look so stupid." 

"I don't either, nerd." 

"How are you not freaking out?" Harrow asks as she tugs at her hair. Gideon's head is going to bald if Harrow is constantly tugging and pulling on her hair as a coping mechanism. Gideon is confident she could pull off having no hair, but she would rather have hair if she ever managed to get back in her body. 

"I am but I deflect it with jokes." Gideon stands up. She is so tired or rather Harrow's body is completely exhausted. "I need to go crash somewhere because your body is screaming for sleep." 

Then Harrow stands up and towers over Gideon. Gideon does not like it at all. She's supposed to be the tall one! Oh no, this must be how Harrow felt. 

"You're so tall. I forgot how tall you are," Harrow seems to be amazed for once. 

Gideon stands on her tiptoes, 'Yeah well, you're pretty tiny like a bug."

"Stop being mean." Harrow glares.

"Apparently I'm grumpy when I'm tired. No wonder you were always mad at me since you never slept." Gideon retorts. 

They make their way through the wreckage of the lab, jumping at every noise because of their shared uncomfort and anxiety. The rest of Canaan House is just as bad as the lab, still trashed from the early incidents. Somehow their rooms weren't trashed, but then again the fighting a drama didn't get that far. 

Gideon is just happy for there to be a bed even if it is undoubtedly dusty and gross. She falls into it, her body, no Harrow's, crying out with relief. Harrow sulks as she checks their rooms. Gideon's eyes grow heavy as she hears the bathroom door shut. She yells at Harrow, "Feel free to be a perv you horny little goblin." 

Harrow shouts back, muffled by the door, "I will absolutely not. You are so disgusting, Gideon." 

Gideon doesn't reply as sleep overcomes her.

  
  



	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: self image issues

Once Harrow is completely sure that Gideon is asleep she lets herself cry. She is just so angry and frustrated. Harrow has taken so much from Gideon over the years. No. Everything Gideon had she devoured. Gideon has been so completely consumed by Harrow that she couldn’t even give Gideon her body back. 

She clutches the edge of the sink, knuckles white and lets out a sob. All her life she has ran after Gideon to inflict pain. Just once, maybe, just this once, she thought she would have been able to stop hurting Griddle. After the siphoning test, Harrow wanted to stop. Gideon had died, no almost died-- not died. She had felt Gideon dying, she had felt the pain and panic, and the way that Gideon had completely allowed Harrow in. Gideon had trusted her so stupidly and should have known better. Ever since they were children they had this game. Harrow would be nice to Gideon, sucker her into trusting Harrow, and then Harrow would strike Gideon in the back. And yet, somehow, Griddle chose to lay down and let Harrow almost kill her in that lab. 

Harrow presses her forehead against the mirror trying to not look at the reflection. She doesn’t want to see Gideon’s face tear-stained because of her one more time. One flesh, one end. What a horrible oath. She reaches up to trace the reflection. She has wanted to run her fingers along Gideon’s face for so long now. Ever since the confession in the pool she has dreamed of Gideon’s stupid face and her fingers tangled in Gideon’s fiery hair. 

And now. Now that won’t happen because she  _ fucked _ up. She had been so sure in her theorems and proofs. Hell, she had even summoned up Palamedes Sextus to check her math. He was an insufferably smug revenant, but she needed him to check. How did both of them miss the error in it ? Where was that fucking error? Harrow tugs at her, no Gideon’s mop of hair, in frustration. She is going to murder Palamedes the next time she summons him from death. 

Harrow wipes her eyes on the sleeve of Gideon’s robe trying to compose herself.

God, how is she going to explain this to Palamedes and the Ninth House? Gideon could never pretend for a second to be Harrow and seriously take the role of the ruler of the Ninth House. The mere thought of it is horrifying to Harrow. All the things that Gideon could and would do from the lack of complete self control. Harrow’s aunts would probably die from shock either way. She never particularly liked them, but still it would be rather irritating to deal with them. Crux would have a heart attack. Well, he would already have a heart attack if he knew that she had abandoned the emperor and the other lyctors after only a few months. She couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t stand the thought of burning Gideon, destroying Gideon, obilterating the  _ one person _ who  _ gave a fuck about her _ . Everyone else had cared more about the appearance of the Ninth than Harrow as a person. Even her own damn parents were more interested in their quest to create the perfect heir. 

Harrow had wanted to take a shower. But she can’t. Instead, she slips out of the bathroom. Gideon is sprawled out over the bed. It’s so weird to see her body like that. Gideon mutters in her sleep. All she wants is to hug Gideon, to bury her face in Gideon. But she can’t. She can’t do it. It’s her face. But it’s Gideon. Even though it’s Gideon, she doesn’t want to know what her body feels like. Well, she knows what her body feels like and she knows how to make it feel. 

Harrow knows just how horrific and disgusting her body is. She’s always hated herself for being made from dead children. Sometimes she feels like she is stitched together from a patchwork of body parts, that not a single part of her is truly her own. She had envied Gideon. Gideon was so confident and Gideon was completely her own being. There was no question of if she was a person or some unholy monster that rose up out of the river. Even if the Ninth was afraid of Gideon, Gideon just thought it was because she was a complete nuisance on a crumbling house. Gideon had never even had to think about if she was human or not. Gideon doesn’t deserve to be stuck in a body like that. 

Harrow lays down next to Gideon. God, she knew she was small, but is she really that small compared to Gideon? Her, no Gideon’s hand, closest to her is slightly curled. The veins stand out against translucent skin. She slips her hand into it. Somehow despite the size difference between the two, it fits perfectly. Gideon’s fingers close around hers. She had never noticed that. Before, all she could think about was how big Gideon’s hand was, how warm it was, how the callouses felt against her skin. She had failed to notice how well they fit together, necromancer and cavalier. If she didn’t know any better, she may have said they had been made for each other. But the Ninth isn’t the Eighth and they will never be like those white cloaked fools. 

Unlike Gideon, she is not tired. She should be after that much necromancy. But she isn’t. So she lays watching Gideon’s, her, chest rise and fall. Despite this all, she is glad that she had not killed Gideon or herself. Gideon snuffles and shifts as she sleeps rolling closer to Harrow. Harrow starts to panic as Gideon curls up against her. She keeps trying to remind herself it’s Gideon, but it just brings back the memories of things taking control of bodies. There is not some revenant or other creature in her body. There will be no harm and no blood. It will not be like the destruction of the Eighth necromancer and cavalier. It’s Gideon. It’s only Griddle who she has known her entire life. Gideon is a known quantity and means no harm. Eventually Harrow manages to settle down. 

Harrow waits for what seems like an eternity for Gideon to wake. She reworks her theorems in her head, her finger absentmindedly tracing them out across Gideon’s arm, her arm, as she mutters the math below her voice. Finally Gideon wakes, her golden eyes blink blearly, before she stiffens and relaxes. She reaches out to touch Harrow, her fingers trailing across Harrow’s face before returning to her own scraping flecks of paint off. She finally speaks, “I still feel like shit. Is this how you feel after you do big tricks?”

Harrow has to nod. “But I’m used to it and you’re not.”

“Fuck, how can you exist like that. I hate it.” 

“It’s just part of life for necromancers, Griddle. We don’t know what it’s like to not feel that way.”

Gideon sighs, “I bet you feel just peachy, huh?”

“Yes, I do. It is quite strange.” Harrow nods. She was fully expecting to be experiencing the side effects of the amount of energy she used. But instead poor Gideon is getting hit with it. She didn’t mean to hurt Gideon again. She didn’t want to. She blinks back tears starting to sob again, “I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you. But I keep doing it. I have been trying to unlearn that.”

Gideon embraces her. She smells of the Ninth House but also something else. Something that Harrow never smelled like. She smells like Gideon strangely enough. Her mind must be playing tricks or making things up out of desperation. Gideon holds her. Gideon has always held her. She’s never held Gideon. She wants to though. Gideon says quietly, “I know. I remember you, us? You, no it was you. I remember you making the choice to leave. I was there even if I had no voice. If I had a voice, I would have told you to stay. But now, now I see I was wrong.”

“Griddle,” Harrow doesn’t know what to say. Gideon cups her face smiles that stupid grin that she would know anywhere even if its on a different face. Gideon wipes the tears from Harrow’s cheeks like she had done months ago in the pool. 

“I’m going to change, ok? You probably should change to. I have no idea where my body has been or what’s touched it.” Gideon gently gives Harrow a push. “And you can have all your bones back.”

Gideon rises and starts to remove necklaces, bracelets, chains, amulets, and bits of bone. Her fingers fumble with the corset of ribs searching for how it is removed. Harrow rises knowing Gideon will never figure it out. She had made it with necromancy and put it on on necromancy. Gideon scowls, “How the hell did you even get this on?”

“I made it,” Harrow focuses on manipulating the bones. They unfuse causing the corset to come into two pieces. She takes the pieces from Gideon who just stares at them completely befuddled. Fashion had never been one of Gideon’s strong points. What she knew had to have come from her terribly corny comics. Oh who is she to call the kettle black? Fashion wasn’t her strong point either but she had been particularly proud of figuring out how to make the corset since it wasn’t exactly the most traditional use for necromancy. 

Harrow picks up all the bones that Gideon had discarded. Gideon fishes around in the robes pockets and pulls out Harrow’s rosary and hands it to her silently and begins to root around through the quarters for clothes. She returns with a pile in her arms, “Here. Just don’t get your weird necromancer cooties on them.”

“And you don’t get your jock stink on my robes.” Harrow retorts as she looks dubiously at the pile after Gideon dumps it on the bed and goes to dig around in the closet. She digs through looking for the clothes most likely to be clean because she does not trust Gideon to not throw dirty clothes into clean clothes. 

From the corner of her eye she sees Gideon just strip like there is no problem. She winces. That is her body and if Griddle is going to be so cavalier. Oh dear god is she going to start making horrible jokes because she’s stuck in Gideon’s dumb body. Gross. She will murder Gideon and Palamedes if that happens. Gideon dresses quickly except for a top and walks over and snatches on of her tank tops. “I’m sorry.”

“This is going to be weird for a while, I suppose.” Harrow finally replies after finding what smelled the least in the pile. She makes a beeline for the bathroom and then decides against it and steps into the closet and closes the door so it’s dark and she doesn’t have to fully see as she dresses. Harrow had wanted to steal one of Gideon’s shirts or robes when she had been with the other lyctors so she could have a little piece of Gideon. But now. Well. This was not how she had imagined it going. Instead of having a little piece of Gideon, she ended with almost all of Gideon. 

She emerges and Gideon doesn’t say anything since she is too busy rolling up the tank top so it doesn’t seem embarrassingly large. Harrow picks up and inspects each of her bone adornments. They feel the same. Their weight is the same. She starts wither her necklaces and amulets. Gideon’s ears aren’t pierced so she will have to settle for no metacarpal earrings. The weight of the bones around her neck is calming. Things can seem almost right as long as she has her garlands of bone, many of which she has had since childhood. Her rosary hangs from her neck as the final necklace. She slips on her bone cuffs and bracelets, adjusting them to fit. And then it is the last thing. She picks up her corset. 

Gideon has finished. She watches with interest as Harrow puts on the corset, the ribs sliding onto her like a locket closing as she shapes and reforms them. Gideon comes up and pokes at the corset squinting at it. Harrow has to roll her eyes as Gidoen speaks, “That’s so cool. Fuck, I look cool.”

“And I just look look like a scrawny kid in oversized clothes. Thanks, Griddle.”

Gideon shrugs, “You have your bones, I have my shirts. Now what do we do?”

“I don’t know.” Harrow says as she looks for a pot of paint and stick of charcoal. She had planned on returning to the Ninth House. But well, that went out the window. So far, neither the Emperor or other lyctors have appeared to trail her or even try looking for her. She could try to summon Palamedes, see if he had any thoughts. She would like to fix this somehow but she simply doesn’t know how. 

Gideon wraps her arms around Harrow’s waist as Harrow starts to apply the paint. She doesn’t bother with a mirror even if it’s not her face. She applied makeup to this one what seems so long ago. It doesn’t take her long and she feels much calmer now. Then she looks down at Gideon. This is so weird. She has always looked up at Gideon. Her body seems to be more Gideonish without the makeup and Gideon’s swagger and gold eyes. Gideon rests her head against Harrow’s chest. Which is weird, but feels nice even if it is a type of gaggifying nice. “I don’t know either.”

“They probably know where I am. But they haven’t come. I don’t know how long we can stay here.” Harrow’s fingers run through Gideon’s hair. “But, I need to do research. This probably is the third best place for it. I need to find where my theorem was wrong.”

“So we stay?”

“I guess.” Harrow finds herself saying. 

“Alright. I’ll keep watch. Did you bring my sword?” Gideon asks. “I will need to train. You have literally no muscle, my dark countessa of pearl bones.”

“Yes.” Harrow points to where she had left it leaning. 

Gideon’s eyes light up as she picks it up with a grunt. Her fingers run over it. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

“I knew you would be mad if I didn’t.” 

“Yeah I would be. Ok, I guess nerd time?” Gideon looks up. She straps her sword to her back. It must be so heavy to her now. Just another way that Harrow has taken so much from Gideon. But then again, Gideon probably will view it as a challenge and it will keep her occupied and out of trouble. Harrow did not want Gideon getting into trouble in her body considering that she had never had sword training and it would only make things worse. 

“Yes, Nav. Nerd time. I might have to talk to the most insufferable nerd in the universe though.”

“I thought you were the most insufferable nerd in the universe.” Gideon grins. At least she’s grinning. That’s a good sign. 

Harrow tries not to sigh in annoyance just at the thought of having to ask Palamedes for help again. “No, Palamedes Sextus. I should be able to summon his revenant here and it should be easier.”

Gideon grows somber for a moment. “Do you know what happened to Cam?”

Harrow shakes her head, “No. I haven’t seen any trace of her here or elsewhere. I know Palamedes would have mentioned if she was dead. So I can only assume she is alive somewhere.”

“I don’t know if that is better or worse.”

“I don’t know either, Griddle.”


	3. Chapter 3

Gideon was bored. Unlike Harrow, she did not want to read any of the thick tomes that were dusty. Harrow is hunched over a stack of books at the one table muttering as she scribbles on flimsy. Gideon had originally entertained herself by swing her sword around to get the feel for it until Harrow had told her to cut it out. It was weird to get yelled at by her own face even if it was Harrow. 

So then she ended up doing sit ups and pushups, but Harrow's body did  _ not _ like that. Gideon is used to being sore but she doesn't want to push it because she honestly has no idea what Harrow's body's limits are. Then she started stacking books to do some step drills. The Ninth (Gideon) may not believe in leg day, but Harrow's body just needed leg time. 

Gideon runs her circuit of drills stepping up and off the book stacks, her hamstrings burning way too early on. But she is interrupted by Harrow yelling at her, "Gideon! Stop stomping on the books! Those are valuable!"

Gideon sighs and sits at the table across from Harrow. She slumps over, resting her chin on her arms watching Harrow furrow her brow in frustration. At least with the face paint and bones, her body looks more like Harrow. But it's still weird to see herself actually reading something besides her skin magazines. Gideon blows a curl out of her face. "I'm bored."

"Not my problem." Harrow replies without looking up, "I'm sure there's some pornographic texts in the stacks somewhere if you desire reading material." 

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" 

"Yes. You are testing my concentration and patience." Harrow looks up, "Now shoo."

Gideon scowls and slinks off. Harrow had insisted they stay together. She had been content to stay in the rooms and practice. But no, Harrow was sure she would get in trouble or more like hurt Harrow's body. She runs her fingers across the spins of the books, not bothering you read the title. Maybe she could build a fort or something out of books. She could see how high she could stack the books before they fall over. She could also turn all the books so their spins were inward to the shelf. That would drive Harrow insane. That would probably be more fun than just flipping the spines to be upside down. 

The library is much bigger than Gideon remembers as she gets deeper into the stacks. But then again, she had looked in it originally when exploring the first time they had been at Canaan House and promptly went to look in the next room. She could do pull ups or wall sits using the shelves and Harrow wouldn't see. It's easier to be bored if she's working out because at least then she is occupied bodily. So Gideon removes a few books and starts to do pull-ups. Something moves from the corner of her eyes in the darker part of the row she's in. 

She draws her blade ignoring the aches in Harrow's stupid weak arms and goes yo investigate. The row is seemingly empty until she encounters a split between the shelves. A grey clad figure shoots out wielding knives in both hands. Gideon swings to block. She finds herself staring into Camilla Hect's face. 

"Cam?" Gideon asks. 

Cam's face is surprised for a moment, "Harrowhark?"

Oh fuck. Well. This is going to be fun. 

Then something hits Gideon on the back of her head. She faintly hears Can hissing something as her vision spins. Who the hell just hit her? She feels her knees crumpling. Oh balls, is Harrow really that out of shape? Then things go black. 

When Gideon wakes, it's in the quarters that the Sixth had occupied. She is tied to a chair and of all people, Coronabeth Tridentarius is sitting in front of her. Coronabeth yawns seemingly bored but in such a sexy way. God, Gideon can feel her cheeks burning. Why is the crown princess of the Third just so fucking hot? Coronabeth leans forward,Gideon can see down her shirt and is ready to die because damn those are some titties. Coronabeth puts her skin magazines to shame. Coronabeth reaches out to jab Gideon straight in the chest, "Did you bring my fucking sister with you?"

Well, the hostility is certainly not what Gideon had expected after she last saw Coronabeth sobbing pitifully after Ianthe ate Babs. Gideon shakes her head. Cam reappears and scoots Coronabeth to the side before sitting down in front of Gideon, "I suppose you've come looking for Gideon, Nonagesimus. Apologies, Cor and I had to be sure that you hadn't brought along anyone else. Doesn't seem like you did." 

"About that," Gideon starts, "I'm not Harrow."

"Cam, I told you that she was going to be a problem." Corona's lips form into a pout. 

"I'm sorry, I should have listened." Cam replies not looking at Coronabeth. She draws one of her knives. 

Gideon winces at the knife, "So...oh fucking necrolord's dick, I don't know how to explain this but I'm Gideon." 

Coronabeth looks at Can and Cam looks at Coronabeth. 

"Harrow fucked up things, ok? She's going to murder me for saying that." Gideon continues, "She came back for me, yeah, but she put herself in my body and I'm stuck in her horrid form." 

"That's bullshit." Cam stands up and holds her knife dangerously close to Gideon. Oh yes, Harrow is absolutely going to murder her. 

"I mean, she does have yellow eyes?" Coronabeth says, "But I didn't see Nonagesimus when she got picked up by the Emperor." 

"Sex Pal." Gideon blurts out. That has got to prove to Cam she's who she says she is. First of all Harrow wouldn't be so vulgar with the Emperor's name and second, well, Harrow wouldn't say that in a hundred years. 

Cam's hand shakes and then she lowers the knife, "God, it's really you?"

Gideon grimaces, "Yep. Now can I please be untied. Harrow's going to notice sooner or later that I'm gone." 

"Fine." Cam goes to untie Gideon. 

Corona looks Gideon up and down, "If Nonagesimus was able to-"

"Cor, you'd have to kill your sister before she'd cough up Babs." Cam cuts her off, "Besides Gideon made Harrow do it. Totally different."

Corona's face falls. She looks about ready to cry again. Gideon doesn't say anything. It seems like this is an old argument. Gideon stands up once Cam is done. "Where's my sword?"

Cam hands it back to Gideon, "I'm surprised Harrow came back so soon."

Gideon shrugs. "Harrow was in the library. She'll probably want to see you two to fill you in and then publicly murder me."

Harrow looks ups from the books when Gideon sets her sword on the table first so a scowl and then a state as she sees Cam and Coronabeth behind Gideon. "Griddle, what were you doing?"

"Got kidnapped by a friend." Gideon jerks her head at Cam. "They know."

"Well, I guess I can see it now." Coronabeth cocks her head, "But still, very uncanny."

Harrow shoots her a glare, "I am surprised you are still here, crown princess of Ida. Camilla, I am glad that you are alive. Now, I am running on a short time table before things-"

"Harrow jumped boat on the Emperor." Gideon interrupts as she goes to sit on the table next to Harrow, "They haven't seemed to follow her but who knows before they decide to?" 

"Gideon!" Harrow snaps. 

"Am I wrong though?" Gideon sticks her tongue out at Harrow. 

"What is your plan then?" Cam asks as both she and Corona sit down. 

Harrow sighs pinching her forehead, "To go back to the Ninth, but well, can you see Gideon even managing to impersonate me?" 

"It'd be fun, Harrow! All the things that I could tell Crux to do," Gideon has already thought about that. It would be so sweet to exact small revenges on Crux for the years of torment. Of course he'd have to do what she says, because to him she's Harrow. 

"Case in point." Harrow shoots Gideon a glare. 

"I doubt that she would get away with it long. Someone would notice your eyes. It really is disconcerting to see Gideon's face with black eyes." Cam points out. 

Gideon drapes herself over Harrow. Coronabeth looks somewhat peeved when she does that. Harrow doesn't swat Gideon away. It's been months since Gideon was able to hold or touch Harrow. She ached so much since it was almost as if she was isolated from the entire world except when Harrow talked to her. Now she just wants to cling to her creepy necronerd, to make up for all that lost time, but also as an apology of sorts. She feels so guilty for thrusting Harrow into a role she didn't want. 

"I need to figure out how to fix this. But I can't find the error or other records. I'm at my wit's end and I'm going to have to summon Palamedes." 

Cam winces. 

"I'm sorry. I don't know how it must be for you, Camilla." Harrow for once sounds sincere. "I was going to summon him here and after that leave for the Ninth." 

"You should come with us. The Ninth may suck-ow!"

Harrow slaps Gideon. Gideon continues, "But it's better than you know, being stuck here?"

"What about me?" Corona speaks. 

"We could take you to your home or you could come to the Ninth with us," Harrow says softly, "I am sorry, Coronabeth."

"Thank you."


End file.
